What buyers look for
- Lidar point clouds from vehicles, drones or fixed scanners, with calibration data.
- Synchronised camera and lidar recordings with GPS and timestamps.
- Vehicle logs: speed, steering, braking and driver interventions.
- Coverage of new regions, road types, weather and lighting.
Who holds driving and lidar data
Commercial fleets with dash cameras or telematics, surveying and mapping companies, construction and mining firms scanning sites, utilities inspecting lines and roads, agricultural operators, and drone service companies. Much of this data is collected for one job and then sits unused.
What to check first
- Privacy. Blur faces and licence plates; GPS traces of drivers can be personal data under GDPR.
- Client ownership. Scans made for a client may belong to them under the contract.
- Sensitive sites. Some infrastructure and defence locations can’t be shared at all.
- Export rules. High-resolution geospatial data can face export limits. See export controls for AI data.
How to start
Summarise your sensors, regions, years of coverage and file formats. Buyers can judge fit from that summary without seeing raw data. Calto Data’s free two-minute check tells you whether your lidar or driving data matches current requests, and this guide explains what drives value.
Frequently asked questions
Is dash cam footage worth anything to AI companies?
It can be, especially with synchronised vehicle data and coverage of places or conditions buyers lack. Faces and plates must be blurred first.
Do we need to label the point clouds?
No. Unlabeled data with good calibration and timestamps can still be licensed; labeling can be done later by the buyer.
Can a surveying firm license scans made for clients?
Only where the contract leaves those rights with the firm or the client agrees. Check each contract before including a project.